Angel Monarch-Chapter 400: The Forgotten Village

Sera said nothing upon hearing Amayeta’s question. Her confusion deepened about the Village as they stepped outside.

The giant trees didn’t let sunshine reach the ground way below, however that wasn’t the problem for the Village.

The Angel stepped outside, stunned in awe. The room was an entire house carved inside the branch of the gigantic trees.

A wide and long walkway led on either side to many more similar doors. Below them, they couldn’t even see the ground from the foliage, but Sera estimated their height to be around 200 meters in above sea level.

However, the Village wasn’t just some long walkway along a branch. No multiple layered walkways, each connected by makeshift wooden elevators, ladders and stairs.

She leaned against the railing and glanced around. Along the long branch, Sera could easily spot more than a hundred doors, just like hers.

Amayeta stopped next to Sera, while smiling proudly...

"Welcome to the Village, Sera! I’ll show you around, after we visited your friend!"

They began moving towards the left, further away from the great tree’s trunk. Along the way, they ran into a few people, but upon seeing Sera with her wings, they gave a respectful bow to Amayeta, then quickly moved to a different floor.

The Angel didn’t even glance at them. Her eyes stayed focused on the marvelous architecture. Even though the walkways, railing, elevators, everything was made with wood, nothing seemed shabby or badly maintained.

Unlike the room’s flooring, the walkway didn’t croak under pressure, and felt sturdy, similar to concrete.

After a minute of walking/rolling, Sera couldn’t hold her curiosity any longer...

"Are these all the Village’s houses? I didn’t except there to be so many of you, seeing as you wear monster skin for clothing... How many of you are there?"

Amayeta glanced at the Angel like she was a foolish child, asking dumb questions. She even dared to giggle!

"Sera, sorry to tell you this, but these are only the hospital rooms of my clinic, nobody lives here! The Village encompasses this entire tree! There are about thirty thousand of us all together, I think, but sadly, the number is decreasing yearly..."

Melancholy appeared in Amayeta’s eyes, but she quickly dismissed it with a fake smile. They reached some kind of balcony, which stretched out further than the regular walkway.

They stopped there momentarily, and Sera finally got a chance to really look around the enormous tree. She finally saw how much of the great tree the Village actually covered.

"From the bottom up, we have the guard and hunter outpost who go out hunting daily and defend us from monsters. They also have a small emergency hospital, where they treat the critically wounded..."

While speaking, Amayeta couldn’t help but glance down at her useless legs...

"What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?" Said Sera, while staring into the doctor’s sad, greenish-hazel eyes. She just smiled genuinely, happy to tell the story everyone in the Village knew.

"About fifteen years ago, I was a proud huntress, one of our best! Even as a sixteen-year-old, I caught prey people feared to even look at!... However, it only takes one mistake to lose a fight, and every hunter could easily find themselves as prey..."

"One of my oldest friends got attacked by a large beast, and I saved her by pushing her out of the way. The beast’s claws raked part of my buttocks and fractured my spine. My legs are mostly useless now, and my back is in constant pain!"

Even though it was a sad story, the doctor smiled brightly, while staring down at the Village.

"Do you regret saving her by sacrificing yourself?" Asked Sera, while staring down at the seemingly ant-sized people moving across the branches.

"Regret? I have no regret in life. Luckily, I already had Lusio by that time and we already adopted Tadita, so even though I can’t have anymore children, I still have two!... And thanks to you, they’ll live to grow into adults!"

Sera smiled brightly at the doctor. Her closed fist seemed to glow with green and white energy, but just as Amayeta noticed, the lights disappeared.

The Angel then squatted down and reached for the walkway below. Some strange silvery metal appeared out of nowhere and formed into a round object... A bracelet with a small empty socket...

From her other hand, which glowed moments ago, she gently placed a greenish-white gemstone into the bracelet.

"While Fate seemed to punish you for the noble sacrifice. I decided you shouldn’t live in agony anymore. Take this bracelet. It’ll heal your injury, albeit slowly... However, it will take the pain away instantly!"

Confused and skeptical, Amayeta took the bracelet and placed it on her arm. She felt a surge of warmth rush through her body, and just like Sera said, the pain disappeared.

Amayeta took a deep breath as her eyes turned teary. For years, she couldn’t breathe normally without wincing from pain, but now she felt amazing.

Her legs and lower body still felt numb, useless. However, the agony’s disappearance was enough to make Amayeta overwhelmed with joy and gratitude...

"Sera... No, Lady Sera... Thank you so much... Thank you..."

She continued repeating herself until her sobs drowned out the words. Sera just rolled her eyes and placed a comforting hand on the paralyzed woman’s shoulder.

"Dammit, Sera! You always do this!... Stopping helping people or they might start worship you!... I make the same mistakes every single time, like an insane person!"

While she whispered under her breath, scolding herself, she couldn’t help but smile when glancing down at Amayeta.

It was true that Sera hated being worshipped, but she would’ve hated herself more by letting people suffer. If her slight discomfort was the price for making everyone feel better, then she will pay it every single time!

"Hey, stop crying! You still hadn’t described me all the layers of the Village. I’m curious where the kitchens and pantries are?"

The doctor laughed as she wiped away her tears. She rolled near the edge and pointed to the floor above the outpost.

"The next floor is where all the guards and hunters live, but their children are kept a few layers above, with the school and library. This way, they aren’t in danger if monsters try to attack!"

Sera nodded with a thoughtful expression, while smiling at the beauty of the settlement’s structure.

"That’s amazing and well-designed. However, what about the monsters which climb the other trees nearby and jump over using its enormous branches? What do you do against them?"

Amayeta looked at the tree’s trunk with a wide smile...

"The Tree protects the Village! Throughout my life, beasts were never able to jump over, or land from the skies above! We are protected by the Tree!"

The Angel raised an eyebrow at the doctor’s statement, but she didn’t prod her for more information. She felt a mystery surrounding this Village, and she wanted to take her time unravelling it!

"Anyway, between the schools and hunter living quarters, there are usual housings where the other workers live. Above the school and library are the kitchens and pantries. I’m sure they’ll serve you enough food. They might even appease your insatiable appetite!"

Both women burst into laughter, while continuing to stare at the people moving around.

"You don’t have to appease my appetite. I can survive without eating and don’t want you to waste food on me!" Said Sera while glancing into Amayeta’s eyes.

The doctor just shook her head while smiling. Her hand kept playing with the new accessory to her wrist.

"It isn’t a waste. The hunters are still bringing in more meat from the area which you oh so thoroughly exterminated. Currently, all the food will spoil, since the pantries are already full! We plan on feasting every day on fresh meat, so you might as well eat your fill!"

Sera nodded in appreciation while she curiously stared at the next layer. A lot more people moved around there, each carrying some material... Mostly wood.

"Those are the workshops. They make all the weapons, clothing and tools for everyone living in the Village. Sadly, we can’t make anything better than stone tools..."

This perked up Sera’s ears and led to the question she was most curious about.

"Why don’t you have metal weapons? I saw the guards and hunters all carrying wooden spears with stones attached to their ends. They are pretty much useless against even the weakest monsters."

Amayeta glanced up at the Angel, with her cunning greenish-hazel eyes, like Sera just walked into her well-laid trap!

"For that, you should learn our entire history. Just know that most of our knowledge didn’t survive the Apocalypse. We saved barely a few thousand old books that were kept hidden in some sort of bunker."

The Angel’s golden-green eyes widened with new understanding. She glanced around the Village once more, but this time without the lense of modern humanity. freewebnøvel.com

Somehow, they lost not just their cities, but all their knowledge after the Apocalypse. Everything they accomplished in the past 28 years was the sole achievement of human determination!

The doctor didn’t notice Sera’s thoughtful silence, and instead moved on, explaining each layer.

"Below the hospital is the chemical layer. From old science books, we know a lot about modern medicine and the importance of sterilization. They also make the alcohol there for the community and other materials like adhesive for the workshops!"

"Above us are multiple layers of housing, and finally, at the top, there’s the scout outpost. They’re responsible for mapping the great forest!"

Suddenly, Sera gently patted Amayeta’s head while staring at everything in awe.

"You did an amazing job! All of you! I’ve seen nothing as incredible as this Village, and I’m the leader of nearly an entire continent!... Anyway, I want to hear more about your history, but first let’s visit Faith!"

The doctor nodded with a proud smile. Somehow, under the Angel’s hand, she felt like a girl again, being praised be her parents!

Those golden-green eyes might’ve been young, but they held an experience worth multiple lifetimes!